Just Me and My Boy – Aquarium of The Pacific

It couldn’t have come at a better time…but Owen and I were given a golden gift of a day to spend together. No school, no work, no Ella, no Daddy.  Just me and him.  It was the week that Ella was still in daycare, Daddy had a non-student work day and Owen was out of school.  So I wanted to do something special with him..I know these times are going to be few and far between very very soon.  He loves getting one on one attention…what kid doesn’t?!?  But I knew when we were given this opportunity our options were limited since I’m kinda super pregnant and not able to walk for long or stand for long or do much for long! haha  But he choose his favorite place Aquarium of The Pacific…and I knew that place was small with not a whole lot of walking and we could get the whole place done in a few hours.

Best part of going on a Friday at the end of August is that we missed the summer rush.  We got there about 30  mins after opening and basically had the place to ourselves for a few hours.  It was nice not being in a rush, being able to look in each tank without a million people pushing to see as well.

Mine and Owen’s favorite creature…the Giant Spider Crab! They are creepy as hell!

And outside it was beautiful too…it wasn’t too hot so we could enjoy it all.

 

We even got to actually feed the Lorikeets. Usually that bird cage thingy is crammed with people and the birds are so overly fed none of them will come near you to take your nector.

Owen and I had such a great day. We were able to talk while we roamed.  I love hearing his stories and reasons for liking or not liking things. His little brain is growing and so full of very intelligent information.  He knew which fish and creatures were which before I could even read him the little signs. Damn that Octonauts show is seriously informational!! haha

One of my favorite, most interesting things was seeing these shark eggs. You could see the baby sharks in their little “things” and when their hatch date was. It was amazing to see!  One was even due in September…and Owen thought they should name that shark Bob too! haha

And this series of pictures cracks me up…he wanted the shark in the background…but waiting for it to circle the tank actually scared him.  It was funny to watch his little face.      

Our favorite shark was the one with the saw for a nose…it was huge but we didn’t get a picture of it.  Owen said it was like a dinosaur. It was pretty darn cool!

Then it was time for souvenirs (for him and Ella…even though she wasn’t suppose to know she was left out…such a good big brother).

 

It was a great, easy day…just my boy and me!

Maternity Leave with Baby Bob

I was only back to work 12 days before my doctor decided it was time that I start prepping/resting for Baby Bob from home.

She decided that 35 weeks was a good time since being on my feet so much at work was giving me lots of preterm contractions/Braxton Hicks and back pain.  I was planning on working another week, until August 28th BUT wasn’t going to “fight” my doctor to work. lol  Baby Bob is gaining weight, but mama still isn’t keeping any calories down (yes I’m still barfing!). But we scheduled my csec date for September 23rd…which puts me at 39.5 weeks prego…and I have never made it to 39 weeks. So it should be interesting.

This belly is growing…and growing big!! Baby Bob probably won’t be my smallest baby…hahaha

And my family in Ireland seem to think that I HAVE to be bigger this time around…lets compare.

35 weeks with Owen and 36 weeks with Ella…

Ok yep…I think I’m the biggest this 3rd time around!! haha  And now that I’m looking at these pictures I feel like Bob might be a little girl!?!?

And the kids are starting to get excited about the big surprise. 
Their votes are very apparent. Owen wants a little brother and Ella wants a girl.

 

But back to my maternity leave, since daycare for Ella was paid for through the month I took advantage of my week being kid-free…

And man dropping off and picking my 1st grader up from school everyday is a joy AND its kinda annoying too! haha 8:45 start time and 2:57pm pick up…only gives you a few hours in the middle of the day to yourself. haha Oh the life of being a stay at home mom! Just kidding. I really do love getting to see him at school, how he interacts with his friends and classmates and giving him a kiss when the bell rings.  Being a working mom isn’t easy either…we miss a lot of these little moments. So I’m appreciative I get a taste of it all now.

 

Then you get home and its homework and dinner time before heading out to whichever “activity” is going on that evening.  Its nuts!

When the “at home moms” are probably cleaning and stuff I was deciding to take advantage of some “me time”. Little bit of Bachelor in Paradise and some reading by the pool…it was very nice!

And since Nana usually has Ella on Wednesdays, and she had some appointments to attend to, it was a me and Ella day…and she makes doing anything in the house impossible. 

I starting thinking that maybe I should start packing a hospital bag..I’m now 36 weeks and JUST IN CASE.  But Ella thought she was the only thing that should be going to the hospital with me!

And she only laid down to relax when she knew I was busy doing stuff.  If I even pretended to close my eyes for a nap she was all over me. 

 

The first day I was home all alone I almost felt guilty…like it wasn’t right that I didn’t have my kids.  BUT as my mother keeps reminding me…it won’t be long now before I won’t have ANY alone time. Bob will be sure to keep this mama busy…I’m sure.

Let the nesting begin!! We got 2 of the 4 closets cleaned out…GOSH I’m such a hoarder! 2 more to go! Nana is great help for all the organizing. So take your time Bob…don’t need you showing up earlier than expected! ;)

Missing Summer

We have been back to school for 2 weeks now…and the weather is hotter now than it was when we were suppose to be enjoying our summer.

We are really missing the mid-week bonfires with friends…

 

…and smores that my kids pretend to like just to eat the chocolate!!

…and dance parties on the sand! 

It was a sad evening knowing that we had school in the coming days…and saying farewell to another great summer! 
As we get older I swear our summers are getting shorter and shorter!   

And I really love getting nice pictures from my bestie after I take crummy ones with my iphone!!

Just wanted to make note that we are missing our summer…and our beach trips….and our friends!